Best of the Weekend: Newport, RI

October 10, 2011

Wow, what an amazing weekend: perfect (summer) weather, great friends, good times, and delicious eats. Let’s just say there wasn’t a shortage of fun this weekend! Here’s a recap of the best parts of my weekend in Newport.

On Sunday, Mal and I and our friends, Josh and Courtney, took a two-hour sailing cruise of Newport Harbor and Narragansett Bay on the Aquidneck, a beautiful, 80-foot gaff-rigged schooner. The weather could not have been more perfect for a sailing adventure.

The sailing tour included complimentary mimosas and a really interesting history of Newport from the crew. Some of the highlights: Fort Adams (one of the largest forts on the East Coast), the summer Whitehouse of JFK where Jackie spent summers, yachts and homes of the rich and famous, and vintage America’s Cup boats.

What was really great about the sailing tour (besides the obvious) was how reasonably it was priced. It cost less than $30 per person, which was totally worth it for what you got.

Mal and I shared Charlie’s Chocolate Chip cupcake, which was vanilla chocolate chip cake with vanilla butter cream frosting and a small chocolate chip cookie on top, and, oh, yes, it was amazing. I loved that the cupcake had so much frosting (my favorite), but the cake was more like a muffin than cake. It tasted fine and I liked it, but the consistency wasn’t typical of a cupcake.

Best Pumpkin Beer: Southampton Pumpkin Ale

I heard that Southampton’s Pumpkin Ale was pretty delicious, so I bought a six-pack for this weekend. It wasn’t my favorite pumpkin beer ever, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. It didn’t have a super strong pumpkin flavor, but I liked the hints of nutmeg and cinnamon.

I really like spicy flavors in my pumpkin beer, but I also like a strong pumpkin flavor. The Southampton Pumpkin Ale was more spicy than pumpkin-y, but it wasn’t hoppy, so, overall, it was a good pumpkin beer in my book.

[…] After my run for some reason, I still had plenty of energy to burn, so I acted like a freak on our back porch. I guess running outside in the beautiful October weather just really psyched me up. (Or maybe I was still drunk from Saturday night?) […]

The one and only time I’ve been to Newport was on my honeymoon and we only drove through. We were there for only a couple of hours and the only place we went was to have lunch at the Firehouse Pizza! Haha, their decor is a little crazy but the food was pretty good. Can’t wait to take a weekend to go back and see more of the sights. It was a little too touristy though for us (i.e. crowded). But I love architecture and is there any better place to go to see beautiful houses?!
~Ang

Thank-you for sharing such an amazing article. Newport beach is one of the best place to spend weekends as it is also a perfect for beach parties and occasions. Currently we have arranged a party with friends at newport beach on “Mystic” 41′ Lagoon 410 catamaran and it is really beautiful to spend holidays there.